


Students, Enemies, Friends

by Mattecat



Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: Gen, Ninja Never Quit 10th Anniversary Zine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-11
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-18 05:54:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,633
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29363589
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mattecat/pseuds/Mattecat
Summary: After Wu releases her from prison, Aspheera agrees, as one last favor, to watch over a former student of his. But Morro isn't the only one who can't stay with the ninja; others join him, and Aspheera isn't sure what to think of the people she's surrounded by.Written for the Ninja Never Quit 10th Anniversary zine.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 25





	Students, Enemies, Friends

**Author's Note:**

> hello hello I felt like posting this so I did! I wrote this for the NNQ 10th anniversary zine, and it was a lot of fun. I used up both my 2500 word slots with this fic bc I write too much. have fun!

Aspheera didn't know what to expect once she was free from prison. Now that his students were all safely back in Ninjago, Wu had pulled some strings to free her, in the hopes he could repair their friendship.

She refused to give the idea any consideration. "Our friendship ended centuries ago," she hissed. "You are a fool, Wu, and I want nothing to do with you!"

Wu didn't flinch. "Then I won't force you," he said. "However, I must ask something of you."

"Absolutely not."

"Please, Aspheera, hear me out."

Aspheera crossed her arms and glared at him. "Fine. You may speak."

Wu nodded. "You are not the only person I've hurt," he said. "There is… a former student of mine. He has been staying with me, but the reminders of the past will not allow him to heal. If you could watch over him, I would be very grateful."

"You are asking an awful lot of me, Wu." Aspheera snorted. "I haven't even met this student. Can you tell me anything about him?"

"He's tried to kill me more than once."

"I'll do it."

* * *

Wu set her up in a small, secluded house, with the mountain Wu's monastery was on visible in the distance. Aspheera decided to tolerate this and did her best to make herself at home. Her followers were no longer with her, now that she lost the element of fire, and the student she had yet to meet would be her only company.

There was a knock on her door. "Who is it?" she snapped, knowing full well who it was.

She was right. "I'm here," Wu said. "I brought Morro with me."

"What, already?" Aspheera ran her eyes over the empty rooms, furnished only with necessities. "Fine. Bring him in."

Wu stepped aside, and a ghost entered the room, staring down at his bare feet. He wore a tattered shawl and carried a small bag over one shoulder. Wu tried to put a hand on his shoulder. The ghost shrugged it off and glared at him.

Aspheera laughed, catching the ghost's attention. He took a step back and clenched his fists. "Who are you?" he demanded.

"I told you, Morro," Wu said. "This is Aspheera. She was an old friend of mine."

"Ha!" Aspheera said. "I like the past tense."

Morro eyed her warily. "You didn't tell me she was a serpentine."

Aspheera hissed softly. "He didn't tell me you were a ghost."

Morro and Wu both flinched. Morro spoke first. "It's his fault," he said. "I died because of him."

"Well," Aspheera said, "you'll have to tell me all about it." To Wu, she said, "you can leave now."

Morro pulled away from him and walked past Aspheera, deeper into the house. "Do I get a room?" he said loudly.

Wu started to speak. "Of course you–"

"I said," Aspheera hissed, "you can leave now."

Wu paused for a moment, then nodded slowly. "Alright," he said. "Goodbye, Morro."

"I hope I never see you again," Morro said. "I'll take not having a room for that."

Wu gave him a sad smile before walking out and closing the door behind him.

Aspheera showed Morro his room, which, apart from a simple bed and set of shelves, was bare. "Do you eat at all?" she asked. "I could make something for the both of us."

"I don't need to eat," Morro said. "So you were Wu's friend?"

"Was, yes." Aspheera hummed. "He betrayed me and had me imprisoned for thousands of years, so we are no longer friends, no matter what the old fool thinks. I am only doing this because I couldn't stand the thought of a child living with him."

Morro bristled. "I'm not a child!"

"My mistake, then. The sentiment stands."

The ghost relaxed. "So what are we doing here?" he asked. "It doesn't look like much."

Aspheera shrugged. "I am going to make myself lunch," she said. "You can settle in, if you'd like. We're going to be each other's only company for the foreseeable future, so we'd best get to know one another."

"What's there to know? I was a starving, homeless orphan, Wu took me in, a lot of stuff happened, and now I'm dead."

Aspheera laughed. "Would you like me to go first, then? I'll talk as I cook, and then you can talk while I eat."

Morro rolled his eyes, but said, "Okay."

* * *

The two of them adapted to life with the other. Morro didn't need to sleep, so he would make noise late at night and wake Aspheera up. Sometimes she'd yell at him to keep it down, sometimes she'd come out and sit with him while he ranted about those who had wronged him. She had to be careful with water around him, but at least serpentine didn't need to wash with water often. Aspheera was content with a dust bath.

One day, there was a knock on the door. Aspheera and Morro froze mid-conversation. "That better not be Wu," Morro muttered.

Aspheera raised her voice. "You'd better not be Wu!"

"Nah," the person responded, "just have a message from him."

Morro's eyes widened, and he rushed to the door. Before Aspheera could ask what the hurry was, he slammed it open and shouted, "Boo!"

The scruffy man screamed bloody murder and fell backwards. Morro cackled. Aspheera decided she should step in and slithered over. "Morro, get away from that poor man, you're scaring him half to death."

"Should've brought my goddamn super soaker!" the man spit out, picking up his hat from where it had fallen and scrambling to his feet. "Why the hell are you here, y' little brat?"

Aspheera pushed Morro away with her tail and gave a toothy smile to the stranger. "My name is Aspheera," she said. "You seem to already know Morro; I agreed to take care of him, as a final favor to Wu. Who are you?"

The man pulled his hat over his head and glared at her through one eye, the other covered by an eyepatch. "Ronin," he said. "You're Aspheera, huh? Goddamn, I should never have agreed to this…"

"Agreed to what?"

Ronin turned around. "Come on up, Acronix."

Aspheera looked where he gestured. Behind him, a tall man stepped out of the bushes. He had a thick mane of black, fluffy hair, and he looked exceedingly nervous. Aspheera smiled. "Acronix, hm? What brings you here?"

"Acronix's another guy who's had bad history with Wu, if you can believe it," Ronin said. "Wu said to ask you if he could, like, sleep on your couch or something."

"I don't need much," Acronix said, "just a place to stay while I search for my brother."

Aspheera looked at Morro, who shrugged. "It's not like he can do anything to hurt us," he said. "You're like, a super powerful serpentine, and I'm already dead."

"I'll allow it," Aspheera said. "You will have to sleep on the couch, though. I'm afraid Morro and I have the only rooms."

Acronix brightened up. "Thank you," he said. "I promise, you won't even know I'm here."

"Cool," said Ronin. "I'm leaving."

Morro waved at him as he walked back to his copter. "Come back and visit!" he shouted. "Don't be a stranger!"

Ronin flipped him off and flew away.

* * *

True to his word, Acronix was barely in the house, leaving in the early mornings before Aspheera was awake, and not returning until late at night. He said very little about himself the few times they spoke; he was Acronix, searching for his brother, Krux. He was a former Master of Time, before their powers were taken from them. He had tried to kill Wu, and come very close to succeeding, but he felt no joy in it anymore. He didn't seem to feel joy in much anything, Aspheera thought to herself.

One day, he came back while Aspheera was still awake and Morro had locked himself in his room. "Good to see you," she said when he walked in. "Are you going straight to bed?"

Acronix sat down on the couch and stared at his hands. Aspheera quietly made an extra cup of tea and brought it to him. "Here," she said. "It'll help you sleep."

"I'm not going to find him," Acronix said.

"Your brother?" Aspheera sipped her own tea. "How do you know?"

"I don't think he ever got out of the time vortex." The mug trembled in his hands. "He told me he wouldn't be happy in this future, not like I could be. But how can I be happy without him? He waited forty years for me, and now he's gone. I'm never going to see him again."

Aspheera had never been any good at comforting people. "What did he want for you?" she asked.

"Oh, only the best." Acronix laughed, tears falling freely down his face. "He wanted us to have the power we deserved. He wanted us to be happy. He wanted me to be happy. I suppose I've failed him, in that regard."

"Now, I don't know him," Aspheera said, "but I don't think he would demand happiness from you, would he?"

"What?"

"He would know he has no control over your happiness. He wants it for you, but cannot demand it, not when there are so many factors at play. You haven't failed him just because you're not happy."

Acronix turned his head away.

"But that doesn't mean you can't try to be happy." Aspheera put down her cup. "What makes you happy, Acronix?"

He didn't say anything for a long moment. Aspheera's eyes were starting to droop. It was very late, after all.

Acronix finally spoke: "I liked the BorgPad."

"Hm? What's that?"

"Oh," he said, "it's a… technological device with all sorts of functions. There are games, there are pictures… I didn't get to use it very much before we were lost in time, but it was really cool!" He was starting to brighten up, putting down his untouched tea and making animated gestures as he spoke. "They could even track temporal anomalies! No, that was the BorgWatch, actually… Dr. Borg really is amazing, I hope he's alright, after what we did…"

Aspheera fell asleep midway through his rambling. When she woke up, Acronix had passed out on the couch. She draped a blanket over him and went to her own bed.

* * *

Acronix didn't go out searching again the next day, choosing instead to spend it lying on the couch in tears. Aspheera brought him food and otherwise left him alone, while Morro followed suit.

The next day, there was a knock on the door, followed by Ronin's voice: "I have a super soaker this time!"

"I bet he's bluffing," Morro said.

"Don't push your luck," Aspheera said, and she opened the door instead.

Ronin lowered the water gun and motioned to the bags of groceries. "Wu figured you'd need more food," he said. "So here it is."

"It's appreciated," Aspheera said. "Could you let Wu know we need a BorgPad, and that I hope he rots?"

"You need a what?" Ronin snorted. "Sure, I'll let him know. Tell Morro I hate his guts, too."

"I can hear you!" Morro shouted from inside the house. Ronin instantly raised the water gun again.

Aspheera narrowed her eyes. "Be careful where you point that thing, because if you return my friend to the Departed Realm, I'll make sure you follow him."

"Cool," said Ronin. "I'm definitely not paid enough for this."

He left. Aspheera brought the groceries inside and dropped them by Acronix. "Put these away," she said when he raised his head off the couch. "If you're going to stick around, you might as well make yourself useful."

"Okay," Acronix croaked.

Aspheera bared her teeth in what she hoped was a kind smile and went to cook lunch.

* * *

It wasn't as if they were trapped in the hut. Aspheera took plenty of walks out in the forest; Morro preferred to stay inside, but Acronix would go with her, sometimes. Like Aspheera, he had only recently entered the modern world, and many things were new to him.

"Though it seems to me you like the change," Aspheera commented on one of their walks.

Acronix laughed. "Technology is incredible," he said. "Of course I'm amazed by it! But it's still nice to get out into nature. Krux and I used to do this when we were children."

A loud beep sounded, making them both pause. "Didn't I ask you not to bring your BorgPad?" Aspheera said.

"I didn't! That wasn't me!"

Another beep, and another, fast and irregular. Aspheera crept towards the sound, Acronix following behind her. She could see movement up ahead, something dragging itself through the forest.

"Halt!" she called out. "Who are you?"

The beeping stopped. The figure crumpled to the ground. Aspheera moved forward.

The figure wore a white ninja gi, but was clearly not Zane. A robot like Zane, though; Aspheera lifted them off the ground and their body dripped black fluid with a harsh scent.

Acronix gasped. "A nindroid!"

"Oh, you know what they are?" Aspheera said. "Good, you can help me fix them."

"What? I don't know how to fix nindroids!"

"You know technology better than I do. At least help me bring him back to the hut."

The nindroid was heavy, but the two of them dragged the body back to the hut before the sun went down. With no way to contact anyone, and no knowledge of when Ronin would show up next, Acronix agreed to do what he could to fix them.

* * *

Morro regarded the unconscious nindroid with suspicion. "Why should we fix them?" he said. "For all we know, they'll wake up and try to kill us. You, I mean."

"Still," Aspheera said, "do they not deserve a second chance? All of us got one."

Morro snorted and phased back through his bedroom door.

It took a few hours of Acronix tinkering with the nindroid, all while their oil stained the floor, but eventually, he stood up and showed Aspheera a thick rectangle. "This is their brain," he told her.

"So you've removed their brain?"

"I don't have the skills to fix their body, but I think their brain is intact. We can wait for Ronin to come back with a computer and hook it up there. Then they'll be able to talk to us."

"Why can't you hook it up to your BorgPad?"

"Because the BorgPad isn't built for that." Acronix carefully placed the nindroid's brain on a shelf. "I don't want to fry them or my BorgPad by messing around."

Aspheera nodded. "Then we'll wait until Ronin returns."

Morro poked his head through his door. "Can I greet him this time?"

* * *

Ronin raised an eyebrow, looking down at the nindroid's body. "Y'know," he said, "this guy got pretty messed up, but I think I can fix him. For a price."

"We have no money," Aspheera said. "Just tell Wu to get us a computer and we'll take it from there."

"I dunno, I think you have something I want."

Aspheera rolled her eyes. "Fine. What is it?"

Ronin hesitated for a long moment. "As much as I don't trust him, I don't think Morro'll off me in the middle of the night," he said. "Long story short, I got in some trouble and I need a place to stay."

"Excuse me? We're out of rooms. And couches."

"Like the ghost brat needs one. He doesn't sleep, right?"

Acronix snorted. "You can try to take it from him."

"Seriously," Ronin said, "I can camp outside or something, but no one else knows where this place is, or that a bunch of criminals are living here. It's completely off the radar, which is super helpful for me. Hell, I'll even get a real bed for Acronix, if you need one."

Aspheera looked at the nindroid, her eyes flicking to their brain on the shelf. "Fine," she said, "but you will not harm Morro, no matter how he teases you."

Ronin sighed. "Yeah, yeah. Just don't let him in my tent."

* * *

Ronin pitched his tent and started work on the nindroid the next day. Morro, to his credit, didn't go out to bother him while the work was being done, choosing instead to press his face against the window and make faces. Aspheera figured he did no harm.

Soon it was time to put the "brain"–the nindroid's hard drive–back into their body. Ronin brought the nindroid into the house for the occasion. "Hopefully this works," he said, examining the slot in the chest. "Sure, it looks fine, but it might have corrupted data or something."

"Just do it already," Morro said.

Ronin inserted the drive. The nindroid hummed to life. His visible eye lit up red and his hand shot out to grab Ronin's neck.

"Hey! Let him go!" Morro was at their side in an instant, prying the nindroid's fingers off and dragging Ronin away.

The nindroid got to his feet and glared at them. "Who are you?!" he demanded in a deep, raspy voice. "What did you do to me?"

Aspheera put herself between the nindroid and her friends. "We fixed you," she hissed. "The least you could do is offer some gratitude."

"What's your name?" Acronix asked. "Do you have one?"

The nindroid puffed up his chest. "I am General Cryptor," he said, "built to serve the Overlord. Now that he's gone, I serve no one, so you'd best stay out of my way."

Aspheera flinched at the mention of the Overlord. Wu had told her many stories about that great evil. "Very well," she said. "You may leave."

Cryptor paused, regarding them one by one. A serpentine, a ghost, and two humans. "You won't stop me?"

"No. We have no interest in keeping you here." Aspheera motioned with her tail. "There's the door. If you threaten harm, then leave us at once."

Cryptor stood there for a moment longer, then nodded and marched to the door. Acronix quickly opened it for him and he disappeared into the night.

"Goddamn," Ronin said, rubbing his throat. "Not so much as a thank you, huh? Alright, kid, let go of me."

Morro took his hands off Ronin's shoulders and stepped away. "I told you it was a bad idea," he said. "Now what're we gonna do?"

"Nothing," Aspheera said. "One nindroid can't do much damage, and if he does, the ninja can deal with him. I don't particularly care enough to get involved."

"Fixing him was pretty involved," Acronix said.

Aspheera rolled her eyes. "I'm going to bed. That was enough drama for my day."

She left the room without another word.

* * *

Two days later, there was a furious knocking on the door. Aspheera first looked out the window to make sure Ronin was still in his tent, then looked through the peephole. "Who are you?" she said to the red-haired woman standing outside.

"A friend," she responded. "Can I come in?"

"Did Wu send you?"

"Hopefully he won't even know I'm here."

Aspheera opened the door. The woman walked in, looking around. "Huh," she said, her eyes falling on the oil stain on the floor. "Have you been up to anything?"

"Nothing in particular," Aspheera said.

Morro stuck his head through his door. "Who are you?" he demanded.

"Skylor," she said with a smile. "Master of Amber, daughter of Master Chen. I used to be a bad guy too, if you can believe it."

Ronin walked into the house behind her, tracking dirt on the floor. "Hey, Skylor," he said casually. "What're you doing here?"

She didn't answer. "Is everyone here?" she asked. "I thought Acronix was with you, too."

"I'm here!" Acronix sat up from where he was lying down on the couch. "What do you need me for?"

Skylor sat on a chair and clasped her hands together. "I'm here with an offer," she said. "You are all villains who've been defeated by the ninja, and to many people that's all you will be."

Ronin snorted. "Speak for yourself, Chen's daughter," he said. "I'm an ally now."

"Yes, to many people, I'll only be Chen's daughter," Skylor said. "And to many people, you'll only be the thief who got his soul cursed."

"Hey–"

"What I'm offering," Skylor continued, "is an opportunity to change that. You could improve your image by helping Ninjago, working… not alongside the ninja, but picking up where they leave off."

Morro frowned. "So what, we'll take care of the bad guys they leave behind? And people start to like us for it?"

"In a sense, yes."

"I won't," Aspheera said. "I'm perfectly happy being known as the evil Aspheera who wanted to destroy Ninjago. As long as nobody bothers me, I don't need to be anything more."

"I'll do it," Acronix said.

Everyone turned to him. "You will?" Ronin said in surprise. "Why?"

Acronix looked at his lap and twisted his hands together. "I love Ninjago," he said. "My brother and I… we both did. We wanted what was best for it, and then we were wrong about what that was. I… I want to serve Ninjago, not just enforce our will on it."

Skylor nodded. "I understand."

"I could do it," Morro said, floating lazily on his back in midair. "Y'know, to prove to Wu that I'm not a failure, and I can do everything his Green Ninja can do."

"Well, damn," Ronin said. "Can't let this brat one-up me. Sure, I'll come along, too."

Morro leaned his head back and stuck his tongue out at him.

"This is ridiculous," Aspheera said. "You're really willing to risk your lives for a place that doesn't care about you? You don't even know what it is you'll be doing!"

"You're right," Skylor said. "I should've been upfront with that. I want to stop a rogue nindroid from threatening Ninjago City before he gets himself killed."

Aspheera winced. One look at Acronix and Ronin showed they felt the same way.

Morro cackled. "Told you it was a bad idea!"

"Fine," Aspheera said. "Do what you want. I'm staying here."

"Are you sure?" Acronix said. "It would be nice to have you with us…"

"No it wouldn't. We're together out of necessity, not a genuine bond." Aspheera turned away. "Have fun, or don't, but don't complain to me about it."

She slithered to her room, ignoring the hurt looks on the others' faces, and closed the door behind her.

She didn't really care about them, Aspheera told herself. Not like she had cared about Wu, before his betrayal, and not like she would ever care about anyone again. She stayed in her room until she was certain they had left, and longer, just to make sure.

When she exited, the house was dark.

Aspheera let out a long hiss, flicking her tongue. They would be fine. Even Morro knew how to behave when his life, or lack of it, was on the line. Acronix was a kind man, he wouldn't get in trouble. And Ronin had been straddling the line of "ally" and "enemy" for his whole life. They would all be fine, especially with Skylor backing them up.

She just had to keep telling herself that.

* * *

Their hut wasn't too far away from Ninjago City. It had to be, so the police could step in if need be. Wu was upfront with her about that. Aspheera kept just off the main road, staying out of sight of the vehicles lumbering on their way.

As she entered the city itself, it was harder to stay out of sight. People on the street stopped to stare at her, pointing and whispering to their friends. Aspheera ignored them and followed the police sirens she could hear in the distance.

Predictably, Skylor, Acronix, Morro, and Ronin were surrounded by police. Aspheera spotted Cryptor with them as well. They were clustered together, standing stiff and straight in front of Wu. Aspheera snorted and weaved her way through the crowd.

"What did you think you were doing?" she heard Wu say as she got closer. "You should've let my students handle this."

"We were just trying to help," Skylor protested. "How can you be mad at us for this?"

Wu shook his head. "Skylor, I know you have the best interests of Ninjago at heart, but I can't say the same for the rest of your friends."

"That's enough," Aspheera announced, ducking under the police tape and gently pushing one of the officers aside. "Do you have a problem, Wu?"

Wu turned to her. "Aspheera?" he said in surprise, keeping her in his gaze as she positioned herself between him and the others. "Was this your idea?"

Aspheera rolled her eyes. "Not exactly. I was content to stay in that hut for the rest of my days, but, well, can you say you control your students all the time?"

Wu raised an eyebrow. "What do my students have to do with this?"

"You have your students, and I have mine." Aspheera motioned to the group. "Come along, children. It's time to go home."

Ronin let out a snort. "Children? Really?"

"I am over a thousand years old. You are all children to me." Aspheera gave one glare to the police and they cleared a path for her. "Now hurry up."

"You can't just leave–"

"I can and I will," Aspheera said. "Or will you try to stop me, Wu?"

Wu let out a long sigh. "Fine," he said. "Best of luck, Aspheera."

* * *

Back at the hut, Cryptor was exceedingly grumpy. "I am not your student," he told Aspheera, "and you can't make me stay."

His body was dripping oil, or some other liquid Aspheera couldn't identify. "Very well," she said. "Would you like repairs before you go?"

"No," Cryptor said. He didn't move to leave. Aspheera watched him until he sighed and said, "Yes."

Skylor approached her while Ronin worked on Cryptor. "Students, huh?" she said. "Thought you didn't care about us."

Aspheera rolled her eyes. "I said some things I didn't mean, back there," she said. "Would you like to stay the night? It's getting late."

"I dunno, your couch is spoken for already."

"Morro doesn't sleep, you can have his room."

" _What!_ " Morro shrieked. Skylor stifled a giggle.

Aspheera smiled too, but it didn't last. "You don't just want us to clean up what the ninja don't," she said to Skylor. "What was your real intention in going after Cryptor today?"

Skylor looked away. "I know it doesn't seem like it," she said, "but I really was a bad kid. I don't think every bad kid is doomed to be like that forever. I want to give them a second chance, y'know? Help them be better people."

Aspheera nodded. "And you went behind Wu's back for this?"

"Not exactly–"

"Don't be ashamed, I'm proud of you!" Aspheera laughed. "Who would you have us help next?"

Skylor relaxed and smiled at her. "Well, there's this one girl I used to know. She's in Kryptarium now, but I'm sure if one of us visited her, she might appreciate it…"

A shout from Ronin distracted them, and they looked to see him batting away a giggling Morro. Acronix laughed and took pictures with his BorgPad. Cryptor growled, but stayed put, and allowed Ronin to finish his repairs. He left that night, but he was back the next morning.

As the days went on, and her students worked together, Aspheera wondered if Wu was proud of her. She told herself she didn't care, but when she encountered him in Ninjago, she could've sworn she saw a smile behind his beard. Was this what he had planned all along?

Well, it didn't matter. Aspheera was happy, too.

**THE END**


End file.
